Definition

1. Verb (Intransitive):

   • To suffer or die from extreme hunger: The primary meaning refers to the severe physical condition caused by a prolonged lack of food.
   • To feel very hungry (informal): Used informally to express a strong feeling of hunger.
   • To suffer from a severe lack of something: To be deprived of something essential or greatly desired.

2. Verb (Transitive):

   • To cause to suffer or die from hunger: To deprive someone or something of food.
   • To deprive of something necessary: To withhold something essential, causing suffering or poor function.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (Intransitive):

  • During the famine, many people starved. (They died from lack of food.)
  • "What's for dinner? I'm starving!" (I am very hungry.)
  • The lonely child starved for affection. (The child desperately lacked affection.)

• Verb (Transitive):

  • The cruel king starved his prisoners. (He caused them to suffer from hunger.)
  • Running the engine at high RPMs starves it of oil. (It deprives the engine of necessary oil.)

Advanced Usage

• "to starve someone/something into (doing) something": To force a person, group, or entity to do something by depriving them of necessities.
  • The siege was meant to starve the city into surrender.
• "to starve for/of something": To have a strong desire or need for something non-physical.
  • The artist's soul starved for inspiration.

Variants and Related Words

• Starvation (n): The state or process of suffering or dying from hunger.
  • The images showed the effects of starvation.
• Starving (adj): Suffering from or dying of hunger; (informally) very hungry.
  • They provided aid to the starving population.

Synonyms

• Famish: To suffer from extreme hunger (more formal/literary).
• Go hungry: To not have enough to eat.
• Deprive: To deny someone the possession or use of something (broader term).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Starve out: To force someone to leave a place by preventing supplies, especially food, from reaching them.
  • The rebels were eventually starved out of their mountain hideout.

Related Idioms

• Starve a fever, feed a cold: A traditional saying about how to treat illness (its medical accuracy is debated).
• Be starved of/for attention: To desperately want or need attention from others.
  • The puppy, left alone all day, was starved for attention.

Verb

1. deprive of a necessity and cause suffering
   • he is starving her of love
   • The engine was starved of fuel
2. have a craving, appetite, or great desire for
3. deprive of food
   • They starved the prisoners
4. die of food deprivation
   • The political prisoners starved to death
   • Many famished in the countryside during the drought
5. be hungry; go without food
   • Let's eat--I'm starving!